Label: 4AD
Released: 5th September 2025
‘Double Infinity’ may have come together in a wintery New York, but there is a warmth at its core that is hard not to be touched by. Big Thief’s sixth studio album, and their first without the presence of former bassist Max Oleartchik, the record required a shift in form, an adjustment to a major change. Change brings its own set of lessons with it, and on ‘Double Infinity’, that manifests in the form of openness. It’s more expansive sonically, more receptive lyrically, and genuinely outward-looking in a way that feels happily content.
Sometimes, it chases that contentment without any complications or details, as on ‘Happy With You’, an upbeat folk track that seems to leap forward with barely-concealed urgency and eagerness. The record is willing and ready to sit with those feelings, no matter how big or scary they might be. It’s contemplative and introspective, but not in an isolated, insular way as previous Big Thief releases have sometimes tended towards. It is more of an ongoing conversation, an opportunity to muse on love, pain and grief alongside another, and feel the relief of feelings shared.
‘Double Infinity’ centres around a togetherness, perhaps a result of the numerous collaborators they invited into its process – twelve musicians lend their touch in some form to the album, and it results in a mellow, intimate sound that invites you too into its folds. It isn’t just in that wider cast of collaborators that can be felt, however. Even more crucially, there is a togetherness between the trio that now make up Big Thief – Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia are arguably the most in sync they have ever been, and it means that glowing warmth is even more pronounced. On ‘No Fear’, they are fantastical, ethereal and shimmering, whilst ‘All Night All Day’ sees the band lean into lush textures, and cosy harmonies. Heavy with improvisation and falling back on a skittering percussion that keeps the album buoyant, ‘Double Infinity’ feels like a much-needed reset, a chance to discover new facets of themselves and transform those discoveries into a stunningly rich body of work.
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